Confusion People (Martin Billings, Book 6) by Ed Teja

 

Release date: March 6, 2022

Subgenre: Crime thriller, Sea adventure

About Confusion People:

 

 Framed for a bewildering array of crimes, Martin is on the run. The government thinks Hodges is either dead or gone rogue. That makes it hard to save the world from his ex-wife who is doing her best to take over various arms and drug deals, and whatever else the cartels are doing. With both Interpol and the bad guys after them, time is not their friend.

Excerpt:

 

I walked the length of the splintery wooden dinghy dock, moving past the inflatable dinghies tied to it. It was a good place to tie up when you went ashore, going shopping or for dinner, just for a walk, or even to hunt down a man you wanted to kill.  

Under the flickering yellow light that hung over the dock, I saw the one I was looking for—a large, white rubber dinghy that had “M/V Isis” stenciled on it in black letters.  

The 25-HP outboard on the back stood out compared to the typical 5-HP motors on the dinghies from sailboats. I hopped in, going aft and sitting down on the seat next to the motor. A separate gas tank sat on the floor and was very easy to disconnect. Of course, that meant it would be just as easy to reconnect, so I took out my knife and cut the line, watching gas flow out for a moment before the lines lost pressure.  

Stinking of gasoline, I grabbed the gas tank and took it with me, climbing back out onto the dock and walking to a garbage bin I’d seen at the head of the dock. I opened the lid and tossed it in. 

That done, I walked to the end and looked out. Isis sat quietly at anchor. I couldn’t see anyone on deck; nothing was happening at all. Word hadn’t gotten back to them yet. I didn’t know how long it would take, but eventually, someone would find the thugs and connect them to Isis. When that happened, all hell would break loose.  

I took off my shoes and tied the laces together and hung them over one of the posts. Then I went down the rickety ladder that someone had nailed to the dock and eased myself down into the warm water. I pushed off and began swimming slowly but steadily toward the yacht, using a breaststroke so that I didn’t splash the water or otherwise attract attention.  

If a yachtie spotted me and yelled out, that might alert the crew of the Isis, and I preferred them to be blissfully unaware. In the best of all worlds, they would be smugly confident that the thugs they’d sent had done their job and had probably stopped in a rum shop for the celebratory drink or two the man with one knee said they’d intended to enjoy. 

If he wasn’t lying, that gave me time. 

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About Ed Teja:

Ed Teja is a writer, a poet, a musician, and a traveler. His stories and poems are about the places he knows, places that lie in the margins of the world, and the amazing, often strange, people he meets between the cracks.

 

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